Redcoats, buffets, bingo, bungee trampolines… it’s fair to say that Butlins has suffered from something of an image problem. But this season, the budget seaside holiday camp has had a huge new lift with the opening of the £20 million Ocean Hotel. CD Traveller reports…

Did we really need the official figures from the Office of National Statistics to tell us that fewer of us holidayed abroad this summer? Up until the end of September we took 14% fewer holidays abroad than 2008. It may not seem a lot but that equates to 9.8 million fewer visits. (A visit can be a day trip to Dublin or Calais as well as a holiday or a short break). But if you look at the figures for the main three months between July and September overseas visits dropped by just 1% and that, I think, is the key result. In the main holiday period, the number of us going abroad hardly altered.